Highbridge (NYC)

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pschauss

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Apologies if this is too far off topic. Has anyone in this forum walked across the High Bridge which runs from northern Manhattan to the Bronx? I am thinking of trying it this weekend. It looks like I could get to it by taking the A or the 1 train to 168th Street and then walking about half a mile.

Is this a safe thing to do? I live on Long Island and come into Manhattan pretty regularly but I don't normally take the subways quite this far north. (When I go to The Cloisters I drive.)

I will, of course, be taking pictures.
 
Sounds interesting! I've walked the Brooklyn Bridge, Manhattan Bridge (at night) and the Walkway Bridge in Poughkeepsie. For this, I don't suggest you take the subway, that would be a pretty long ride from LIRR at 34th St. Suggest you drive in (after morning rush hour) and park around Amsterdam Ave and 173rd and walk over bridge from that point. Should be pretty safe to walk from the NY side and back.
 
Thanks for the feedback.

The A is an express and, according to Google Maps, takes about 20 minutes from Penn to 168th St. I can get to Penn Station on the LIRR from my house in about an hour and 20 minutes. Driving into New York from Long Island on a weekend is always a gamble because they like to close half of the Midtown Tunnel sometimes. The other option for the north end of Manhattan is the Throgs Neck Bridge and Cross Bronx Expressway which is usually a disaster.

If I decide to go, I will post some pictures.
 
I've done it a time or two, it's perfectly safe. They close it at 7:00 PM, so make sure you come early enough to get the shots you want. I recommend taking the train. Even if the drive wasn't a disaster, parking, unless you use a garage which would be a financial disaster, is a mess.
 
Know that Highbridge Park is an abandoned city park that is kinda feral. Last summer I walked down from Dykeman in Inwood to the southern end after walking the promanade along the Harlem River Drive uptown alone. The walk along the Harlem River only has two entrences/exits at either end, and at the southern end is a big housing project complex built on the old polo grounds.

Other than locals barbqueing right next to the signs with the Maple leaf stating "No Barbgues" the park is empty and I would deem unsafe. There are no park workers, police, video cameras or other people in the park other than the locals with their families right at or very near any park entrance.

I walked the entire park more or less alone with two exceptions: one was this young guy who was a muscular buck in his prime. We kinda stumbled upon each other and surprised each other, but the body language was clear it was "Gladiator Mode" and if we got closer than say 12-15 feet only one person would walk out of that park that day. We kept our distance and went our separate ways, but miles later I ran into him again.

The only other place where you will see people is at the skate board park right under the George Washington Bridge, and by the pool.

All the lighting in the park is in a state of disrepair, with some lightpoles toppled over from vandelism. Know that if anything bad happens you are on your own. I was carrying two film Leicas that day in a bag so that I had both hands free for any fight. If I had to I would use a Leica as a weapon to save myself.

Cal
 
Timmyjoe said:
I did the Verrazano while covering the Marathon in 1994. Not done any of the other ones. Would love to see your pictures so please post.
Click to expand...

Tim,

I ran the NYC Marathon in 2007 at the age of 49 off the couch without any training just under 5 hours. A friend at work had overtrained and became too sick to run the event, and at a Friday meeting he offered me his bib so I could run in his place. I literally had only one full day to get ready.

Definately completing my first Marathon is one of the high points in my life. I made the mistake of stopping in Greenpoint for 7 minutes to pee. My lactic acid levels peaked, my time then was just over 2 hours, but the remaining half marathon that lay ahead was crampy and painful.

Towards the end I was really running and was suffering a lot. I began hallucinating because I saw some sign that said "4 miles to finish" several times, but I cursed to myself that Central Park is not so big.

Anyways the next day after the Marathon I could not walk. Basically I used my arms to move around. LOL. I called into work requesting a sick day, but my boss was a jerk and questioned why I wanted a sick day, and I told him, "When your head hurts it is appropriate to use a sick day; this is no different other than my legs hurt."

Cal
 
Cal,

I was working on a story for the paper on the Achilles Track Club, the group of differently abled athletes who do the marathon each year. Back then I was still shooting with my Canon F-1 with motor drive and a 100-300 zoom. Weighed a ton. Did nine miles of the marathon, running backwards with that camera up to my eye. Could barely lift my arms the next day.
 
Calzone said:
Know that Highbridge Park is an abandoned city park that is kinda feral. Last summer I walked down from Dykeman in Inwood to the southern end after walking the promanade along the Harlem River Drive uptown alone. The walk along the Harlem River only has two entrences/exits at either end, and at the southern end is a big housing project complex built on the old polo grounds.

Other than locals barbqueing right next to the signs with the Maple leaf stating "No Barbgues" the park is empty and I would deem unsafe. There are no park workers, police, video cameras or other people in the park other than the locals with their families right at or very near any park entrance.

I walked the entire park more or less alone with two exceptions: one was this young guy who was a muscular buck in his prime. We kinda stumbled upon each other and surprised each other, but the body language was clear it was "Gladiator Mode" and if we got closer than say 12-15 feet only one person would walk out of that park that day. We kept our distance and went our separate ways, but miles later I ran into him again.

The only other place where you will see people is at the skate board park right under the George Washington Bridge, and by the pool.

All the lighting in the park is in a state of disrepair, with some lightpoles toppled over from vandelism. Know that if anything bad happens you are on your own. I was carrying two film Leicas that day in a bag so that I had both hands free for any fight. If I had to I would use a Leica as a weapon to save myself.

Cal
Click to expand...

Hey Cal,

The actual Highbridge is not in the desolate part of the park. It's up by the pool very close to the street along Audubon Avenue so its perfectly safe to access and walk across.

The lower parts of the park are definitely still abandoned and deserted as you mentioned.
 
JMQ said:
Pramodh, John, Cal, you guys want to go there one of these week-ends? there is safety in numbers.
Click to expand...

Jean-Marc,

The feral park had limited shooting ops. I think under the George Washington Bridge looking to the Bronx has some great landscape shots of the viaduct and the exchange of highways, but this best suits long lenses. I had a 90 Macro Elmar which was about the right lens. In the park itself was not much except for the footings of the GWB itself and the skateboard park.

I was also thinking of going back with a 21 SEM to document each of the entrances where Washington Height families were basically defying the "No BBQ" signs and were openly BBQ'ing right next to the sign.

I had decided to do something I knew was dangerous. Kinda like shooting in East Harlem along the river with medium format and a tripod at night. BTW I brought my monopod as a weapon to carry in plain sight. I was shooting north of the Triborough in an area I had scouted out during the day. The name Hell Gate is apropo.

Not really a good place for group shooting because the shots are limited.

Cal
 
andredossantos said:
It's really not dangerous at all.
Click to expand...

Andre,

I had these feelings of being totally on my own, and the park was vacant for a reason (except for at crowded entrences very near the street). I knew if anything bad happened that there was unlikely any help and there would be no one to rescue me even if left bleeding. I felt pretty alone.

When I encounter that young buck deep in the park, it was very clear without spoken words where the boundries stood. We looked at each other sizing each other up. It was like two cats with their backs arched and their tails up.

Perhaps I was being hyper vigilent, but in my book it was appropriate considering if anything bad happened the ending would be truely bad.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
Andre,

I had these feelings of being totally on my own, and the park was vacant for a reason (except for at crowded entrences very near the street). I knew if anything bad happened that there was unlikely any help and there would be no one to rescue me even if left bleeding. I felt pretty alone.

When I encounter that young buck deep in the park, it was very clear without spoken words where the boundries stood. We looked at each other sizing each other up. It was like two cats with their backs arched and their tails up.

Perhaps I was being hyper vigilent, but in my book it was appropriate considering if anything bad happened the ending would be truely bad.

Cal
Click to expand...

No, Cal, I meant the surrounding area and the part of the park with the bridge. The areas you went to are definitely sketchy!
 
andredossantos said:
No, Cal, I meant the surrounding area and the part of the park with the bridge. The areas you went to are definitely sketchy!
Click to expand...

Andre,

For Maggie's blog we used the skate board park as a backdrop. Also at the northern end by Dykeman is a BMX track and mountain bike trail that is kinda technical. In this northern section there are mucho homeless encampments, filth, broken glass, and basically its a dumping ground.

What is mind blowing is how can such a feral area exist in Madhattan. Overall this is no small park. The terrain is cliffy, rocky and rugged.

Cal
 
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